SERVICES & FACILITIES ANNUAL REPORT - FY April 2002 to March 2003

SERVICE: OUUSF Open University Uranium Series Facility NERC/IF/209 / FUNDING:
ContractF14/G6/47 / AGREEMENT / ESTABLISHED as S&F
1998 / TERM
3 year
TYPE OF SERVICE PROVIDED:
U-series analyses are an essential component of research projects in Earth and environmental science and science-based archaeology. Topics include magma chamber evolution and volcanic hazard prediction, global climatic change through dating of authigenic carbonate deposits, and human evolution through dating of bone, and potentially the study of groundwater evolution
OUUSF provides state-of-the-art U-series isotope preparation labs, a high abundance sensitivity FinniganMAT 262 solid source mass spectrometer, a Nu Instruments plasma ionisation mass spectrometer and a New Wave Excimer laser ablation system. Access to all U-series systems is subject to availability, as determined by the Manager of the OUUSF and the Open University Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory (OUIGL).
The normal basis of operation is collaborative research via U-series measurements. OUUSF provides access for training and research in the application of U-series systems to NERC-related research, in particular geochemistry, Quaternary science, archaeology and hydrogeology. OUUSF provides the equivalent of one user-year of training and analyses per annum, which represents 25% of OUIGL capacity and corresponds to circa 165 project samples. Quality Assurance is maintained through the repeated analysis of internal standards and Certified Reference Materials, reagent and total-procedure blanks and calibrations, performed by staff and users, equivalent to some 60 samples per year.
Users should have, or be prepared to learn at the OUUSF, the analytical skills necessary for successful processing of samples in a clean room, for working with radioactive materials, and for using isotope ratio mass spectrometers. OUIGL and OUUSF staff are primarily involved in supervision of post-graduates and have limited capacity to perform analyses for collaborators.
Scores at Last Review (each out of 5) / Date of Last Review: / 2003
Need / Uniqueness / Quality of Service / Quality of Science & Training / Average
4 / 4.5 / 4.5 / 4.5 / 4.38
CAPACITY of HOST ENTITY
FUNDED by S&F / Staff & Status / Next Review (January) / Contract Ends
(31 March)
Dr P. van Calsteren Senior Research Fellow 0%
Dr M.A.Gilmour Project Officer 70%
Dr L.E. Thomas Research Fellow 0%
25 % / J. Rhodes Technician Grade E 100%, / 2006 / 2004
FINANCIAL DETAILS: CURRENT FY
Recurrent Allocation £k / Unit Cost £k / Capital Expend £k / Income
£k / Full cash cost £k
Unit 1
/
Unit 2
/
Unit 3
82.66 / 0.500 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 82.66
FINANCIAL COMMITMENT (by year until end of current agreement)
2003-04 / 90 / 2004-05 / 85 / 2005-06 / 88 / 2006-07 / 91 / 2007-08
STEERING COMMITTEE / Independent Members / Meetings per annum / Other S&F Overseen
Isotope Geoscience Facilities / 15 (Chair, Prof N Harris OU) / 2 / NIGL, AIF,ICSF
APPLICATIONS: DISTRIBUTION OF GRADES (Current FY — 2002/03)
a5 / a4 / a3 / a2 / a1 / b / R*/Pilot / Reject
NERC Grant projects / 1
Other academic / 1 / 1
Students
Pilot
TOTAL
APPLICATIONS: DISTRIBUTION OF GRADES (per annum average previous 3 years —1999/2000 - 2000/2001& 2002/2003)
a5 / a4 / a3 / a2 / a1 / b / R*/Pilot / Reject
NERC Grant projects / .33 / 2.67
Other Academic / 1 / 1.33
Students
Pilot / .33
TOTAL
PROJECTS COMPLETED (Current FY)
a5 / a4 / a3 / a2 / a1 / b / R*/Pilot
NERC Grant projects / .33 / 1.67
Other Academic / .33 / .67
Students
Pilot / .33
USER PROFILE (current FY) / *Combined non-Thematic and Thematic

Grand

Total

/ Infrastructure /

PAYG

Supplement to NERC Grant * / Student / NERC C/S / Other / NERC Grant* / Student / NERC C/S / Other
Total / NERC / Total / NERC
3 / 1 / 2 / 2
USER PROFILE (per annum average previous 3 years) / *Combined non-Thematic and Thematic

Grand

Total

/ Infrastructure /

PAYG

Supplement to NERC Grant * / Student / NERC C/S / Other / NERC Grant* / Student / NERC C/S / Other
Total / NERC / Total / NERC
5.33 / 3 / 1 / 0.33 / 2.33
USER PROFILE (current FY)
Academic / Centre/Survey / NERC Fellows / PhD / Commercial
3 / 2
USER PROFILE (per annum average previous 3 years)
Academic / Centre/Survey / NERC Fellows / PhD / Commercial
5 / 0.33 / 1.33
OUTPUT & PERFORMANCE MEASURES (current FY)
Publications (by science area & type)
SBA / ES / MS / AS / TFS / EO / Polar / Grand Total / Refereed / Non-Ref/ Conf Proc / PhD Theses
4 / 4 / 6 / 9
Distribution of Projects (by science areas)
SBA / ES / MS / AS / TFS / EO / Polar
3
OUTPUT & PERFORMANCE MEASURES (per annum average previous 3 years)
Publications (by science area & type)
SBA / ES / MS / AS / TFS / EO / Polar / Grand Total / Refereed / Non-Ref/ Conf Proc / PhD Theses
1.67 / 2 / 3.67 / 3.33 / 3.33 / .33
Distribution of Projects (by science areas)
SBA / ES / MS / AS / TFS / EO / Polar
.67 / 3.67
OVERVIEW & ACTIVITIES IN FINANCIAL YEAR (2001/02):
During this report year 12 projects graded a3high to a4, on average, were active. Two projects form part of a PhD project and these received extensive training at the OUUSF. Three papers involving OUUSF staff were published in peer-reviewed, and another 14 manuscripts are ‘in press’ or ‘submitted’.
The MAT 262 mass spectrometer has been out of action for two months of this report year due to the HEFCE/OU funded refurbishment project. The Nu-instruments Multi-Collector Plasma Ionisation Mass Spectrometer has been available for OUUSF work throughout and the New Wave Excimer laser ablation system has been commissioned in March. Chemical dissolutions and separations have been carried out in custom-designed perspex containment boxes, since July. Thanks to the forward planning, hard work and determination of staff and post-graduates, the full complement of contracted samples has been analysed in this report year.
Scientific highlights this year include:
Precise dating of Dansgaard-Oeschger climate oscillations in western Europe from speleothem data.
A better understanding of the millennial scale Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events, rapid temperature fluctuations of several degrees over 100’s to 1000’s of years, is highly relevant because the rate of temperature change into and out of DO events is comparable to the rate at present. Some twenty DO events have occurred in the last 80 ky and they are evident in both ocean sediment and ice-core records. Heinrich events have a similar temperature effect but are associated with clearly identified sediment layers that are rich in clastic material, probably caused by ice rafting. DO events are a probable consequence of stagnation of the Gulf Stream and the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water but the underlying cause is as yet, unclear. Evaluation of the effects of DO events on continental climate and vegetation is closely linked to the gathering of additional data and to better absolute chronologies. This is particularly important for the period beyond the 14C dating limit for marine and lake records and beyond the limit of annual layer counting in ice cores.
Genty et al., (Nature 2003), have analysed carbon and oxygen stable isotope profiles on a stalagmite, collected from Grotte de Villars, in southern France less than 200 km from the Atlantic Ocean which very clearly shows DO events. OUUSF has dated 28 points along this stalagmite, between 83 and 32 ka with uncertainties less than 2% 2 using the Uranium-series method and making this the best-dated climate archive for this period. Linkage of the DO events in the Villars record with ice-core and deep-sea sediment records provides improved further time constrains for those records.
The main climatic feature of the Villars record is the confirmation of the rapidity of onset and amelioration of the DO events with rates of change up to ten Celcius per century. Most DO events last for about one millenium. Drastic and rapid vegetation changes were associated with DO events in this area of Western Europe where many prehistoric cultures have been recognised. If the present global temperature increase also results in the interruption of the Gulf Stream then the climate during DO events may well be a guide to what can be expected in the future.

Corals to estimate earthquake frequencies

Marine terraces that have been raised by fault activity in central Greece have been dated using corals. In the study area 10 (magnitude 6.0) earthquakes have occurred in the last century, but the frequency of earthquakes is poorly constrained due to the lack of data on rates of fault-slip. Initial U-series ages showed unexpected complexity and several ages did not match the presumed tectonic history of the region. Further fieldwork to resolve this issue showed that, in fact, the dates were a guide to previously unknown complexity of terrace formation. Unrecognised hiatus surfaces marked by thin calcretes allowed multiple terraces to be identified in vertical section. Once identified, and the sedimentological expression of terrace superposition recognised, the terraces were found to be compound, thereby validating the coral U-series ages. This result allows a considerable refinement to be made in the estimation of rates of fault slip. Multiple and accurate dates on terraces from central Greece are of great significance in the evaluation of deformation rates both locally and regionally and for assessing the changing intensity of differential uplift throughout the region. They are pivotal in testing the hypothesis of Morewood and Roberts (1999) concerning styles and rates of fault slip.
Lake marlsU-series disequilibrium dating of lake sediments is often complicated due to the presence of detrital 230Th within the sample matrix. The analysis of bulk sample thus provides a 230Th signature that is comprised of detrital and authigenic 230Th, and yields an apparent age much older than reality. Many attempts at leaching such samples have yielded non-reproducible results. However, exciting results from lacustrine sediments from Hawes Water (NW Lancashire, UK) indicate that this particular lake has marls that are less affected by detrital thorium input than many other lakes. Hawes Water, a small shallow lake, is much more responsive to climatic and hydrological change than large deep-water lakes. U-series ages match rather well with a proxy chronology based on pollen horizons and stable isotopic data.Trace element and stable isotope data for the Holocene sequence at Hawes Water indicate considerable climatic change during the last 10 ky contrary to popular belief that the Holocene in NW Europe since the Younger Dryas as been a climatologically quiet period. This is the first attempt to combine high-resolution stable isotopic and geochemical data with an absolute chronology of a NW European shallow lake.
In a multi-user, multi-project laboratory it is essential to maintain high levels of Quality Control and 130 analyses (18.4 sample equivalent for OUUSF) have been carried out on shelf standards and Certified Reference Materials, reagent and procedure blanks and instrument performance standards.
OUUSF has a Website at http://www2.open.ac.uk/ril/nssindex.htm with ‘Science Highlights’, it also features images of the recent refurbishment work.
SCIENCE SUPPORTED IN FY (2001/02):Full projects approved by the NIGF Steering Committee are:
Philip L. Gibbard, Geography, Cambridge: Quaternary Glaciations in the Pindus Mountains, Northwest Greece.
U-Series dating of post-depositional calcite deposits (calcretes) that are present within limestone-derived till sediments in the glaciated headwaters of the Voidomatis River Basin. The data will provide minimum ages for the glacial sediments and strategic sampling and detailed geomorphological mapping will allow a robust geochronology to be established and will establish loca, regional and Mediterranean-wide correlations with the glacial sequences.
The field area is one of the most southerly examples of Pleistocene glaciation in Europe (40˚N), the glacial sediments and landforms represent an important source of information on the nature of the Mediterranean climate during cold stages of the Pleistocene. This project will also test whether phases of ice build-up and decay in the Mediterranean mountains were in phase with the various proxy records that have been produced for the North Atlantic Region and with the records of glacier and ice-sheet dynamics developed for central and northwest Europe.
JOHN MCARTHUR, Geology, UCL: Earthquake hazards calibrated using U-series dating.
This is to complete the highly promising project on dating of Cladocora corals on uplifted marine terraces at the Perachora Peninsula, Greece. See Scientific Highlights above.
ANDY BAKER, Newcastle: A 450 year annually resolved stalagmite record of Ethiopian climate.
Drought and associated problems of famine affect Ethiopia, due to the dependence of its population on subsistence agriculture, such that if either one of the two seasonal rains fail, famine can result. Historical climate data (instrumental rainfall and Nile discharge) for the region suggest possible correlation of rain failure with ~5 yr, cyclicity in sea surface temperatures, and possible decadal variations in Nile discharge. Long high-resolution climate records are required to investigate the frequency of the failure of rains and the presence of decadal periodicity's in climate. Stalagmites can provide such high-resolution climate archives and a continuously laminated (451 laminae) Holocene sample has been analysed for lamina width variations. Spectral analysis demonstrates statistically significant peaks; using a wide range of spectral windows. Replicable peaks are observed at periodicity's that include the ~5 year period observed in historical rainfall records in the region and those similar to the decadal periods in Nile flood discharge. High-precision U-series dating on this lamina width series will constrain the time frame and confirm that laminae are annual.